The X And Why Factor

ravin and wife Sarangi have always maintained that the battle was not only about money. Outlook has learned that there were deeply personal issues between the brothers that, if made public, could not only damage Pramod's reputation but also embarrass the Bharatiya Janata Party. These issues pertained to Pramod's personal life and lifestyle. In March-April last year, these lifestyle issues apparently came to a head in a manner that directly affected Pravin and his family. If Pravin had spoken about these issues on oath, the testimony was bound to become a highly provocative and damaging document. Unwittingly, both the prosecution and defence lawyers gave a clue to its contents as they argued about a fitting sentence for Pravin. Nikam insisted the testimony on oath "had nothing to do with the murder" and that Pravin had given it "only to create a suspicion in the minds of people about the character of (Pramod) Mahajan".

Not really, argued defence lawyer Harshad Ponda. Pravin, he said, had "brought things on record not to malign Mahajan but to state the truth. We must understand that the murder was purely a family affair and there was no political motive behind it". There's talk now that Pramod's family will do everything possible to prevent the testimony from becoming public. Nikam pleaded with the judge that its contents remain out of public gaze even after the judgement copy—a public document—is released by the court. "We don't want to say anything about this part," said Munde. "We are satisfied with the justice though we believe the prosecution should appeal against the sentence to demand death penalty. " Pramod's wife Rekha, children Rahul and Poonam made no official statement but endorsed Munde's sentiments. Pravin and Sarangi apparently want the truth out sometime in the future but for the moment their priority is to secure bail from the high court.

The reaction within the BJP was rather muted. Besides the usual platitude about "justice is done", there was little either from the Maharashtra state unit or the central party office. Sources say the party, having managed to distance itself in the last year-and-a-half from the cult and culture of Pramod Mahajan, wishes things to stay that way. Son Rahul's attempts at gaining a political toehold came to naught when he was allegedly found drunk and drugged in Mahajan's official residence in Delhi within a month of his death. That incident claimed the life of Mahajan's trusted aide Vivek Moitra, believed to have known too much about his boss.